CN112534935B

CN112534935B - Method and apparatus for facilitating HARQ transmissions

Info

Publication number: CN112534935B
Application number: CN201980052025.7A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 刘进华; 李�根
Original assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson AB
Current assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson AB
Priority date: 2018-08-07
Filing date: 2019-07-22
Publication date: 2024-09-03
Anticipated expiration: 2039-07-22
Also published as: CN112534935A; CO2021001677A2; EP3834568A1; KR102627291B1; JP2021533635A; WO2020029787A1; EP3834568A4; KR20210028683A; JP7233520B2; US20210297195A1

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a method (100) in a terminal device for facilitating hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) transmissions. The method (100) comprises: starting (110) a first configuration grant timer associated with a first HARQ process when data is transmitted to a network device in a first HARQ transmission using the first HARQ process; receiving (120) HARQ feedback information associated with the first HARQ transmission from the network device; and applying (130) a timer operation to the first configuration grant timer based on the HARQ feedback information.

Description

Method and apparatus for facilitating HARQ transmissions

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to wireless communications, and more particularly, to methods and apparatus for facilitating hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) transmissions.

Background

In New Radios (NRs), there are two types of scheduling schemes for uplink transmissions: dynamic scheduling and configuration scheduling.

In dynamic scheduling, when new data is ready for transmission and no uplink grant is available, a User Equipment (UE) should first send a scheduling request to a (next generation) NodeB (gNB) using a pre-configured periodic resource. Upon receiving the scheduling request, the gNB allocates an uplink grant to the UE via a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH). Upon receiving the UL grant, the UE prepares a Media Access Control (MAC) Protocol Data Unit (PDU), encodes the MAC PDU and maps the encoded MAC PDU to a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) for uplink transmission. In the unlicensed band, the gNB needs to perform a Listen Before Talk (LBT) procedure before transmitting the uplink grant, and the UE also needs to perform the LBT procedure before transmitting the scheduling request and PUSCH. This means that at least three LBT procedures are required for uplink data transmission. Thus, the risk of not having access to the channel will increase.

In configuration scheduling, or sometimes referred to as semi-static scheduling, the gNB pre-configures periodic radio resources for the UE. The UE may use radio resources when there is uplink data to transmit. In this way, the UE can directly transmit PUSCH using the preconfigured radio resources without first transmitting a scheduling request. The gNB need not send a specific uplink grant for each uplink transmission. In the unlicensed band, this means that the LBT procedure for scheduling request transmission at the UE and the LBT procedure for uplink grant transmission TX at the gNB can be omitted.

In NR, there are two types of configuration scheduling schemes for uplink, referred to as Configuration Scheduling (CS) type 1 and type 2, respectively. For CS type 1, all parameters, including periodicity, number of HARQ processes, CS radio network temporary identifier (CS-RNTI), power control parameters, time frequency resources, and Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS), are configured via Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling. When the UE receives the RRC message to configure CS type 1, the configured grant is activated. For CS type 2, a two-phase configuration procedure is applied. In phase 1, the gNB signals via RRC signaling a set of parameters, such as periodicity, number of HARQ processes, CS-RNTI and power control parameters. In phase 2, the serving gNB may conditionally determine when to activate/re-activate configured grant type 2 and send physical layer parameters, such as time-frequency resources and MCS, via uplink grants addressed to the CS-RNTI.

For both CS type 1 and CS type 2, the transmission opportunity (i.e., the configured uplink grant) will occur according to the periodicity of the configuration. The UE may determine the admission occurrence for configuration according to the various formulas in section 5.8 of 3gpp TS 38.321-f10, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. When the UE determines to send data using the configured grant, it should also determine the HARQ process ID associated with the configured grant according to section 5.4.1 of 3gpp TS 38.321-f10, which is reproduced below for reference:

Once the UE sends data using the configured grant, the UE should also determine the HARQ process ID associated with the configured grant according to the formula defined in section 5.4.1 in 3gpp TS 38.321-f 10. The corresponding parts are copied below for quick reference:

For a configured uplink grant, the HARQ process ID associated with the first symbol of the UL transmission may be derived from the following equation:

HARQ process id=

[ Floor (current_symbol/period) ] mod nrofHARQ-Processes

Wherein current_symbol= (sfn× numberOfSlotsPerFrame × numberOfSymbolsPerSlot + slot number in frame× numberOfSymbolsPerSlot + symbol number in slot), and numberOfSlotsPerFrame and numberOfSymbolsPerSlot refer to the number of consecutive slots per frame and the number of consecutive symbols per slot, respectively, as specified in TS 38.211.

Annotation 1: current_symbol refers to the symbol index of the first transmission occasion of the occurring repetition bundle.

Annotation 2: if the configured grant is activated and the associated HARQ process ID is less than nrofHARQ-Processes, the HARQ process is configured for the configured grant.

When the HARQ process is used for HARQ transmission, the associated configuredGrantTimer (configuration grant timer) is started with a pre-configured value. When the associated configureGrantTimer is running, the UE should not use the same HARQ process for another transmission using any configured grant. Expiration of the associated configureGrantTimer means: 1) The corresponding HARQ process is released; and 2) the corresponding HARQ transmission is successful. That is, when the associated configuredGrantTimer expires, the UE may use the same HARQ process for the uplink transmission using the configured grant.

In 3GPP TS 38.331-f10, configureGrantTimer values are listed below:

configuredGrantTimer ENUMERATED{sym2,sym7,sym1x14,sym2x14,sym4x14,sym5x14,sym8x14,sym10x14,sym16x14,sym20x14,sym32x14,sym40x14,sym64x14,sym80x14,sym128x14,sym 160x14,sym256x14,sym512x14,sym640x14,

sym6,sym1x12,sym2x12,sym4x12,sym5x12,sym8x12,sym10x12,sym16x12,sym20x12,sym32x12,sym40x12,sym64x12,sym80x12,sym128x12,sym256x12,sym320x12,sym512x12,sym640x12},

Where "symx" represents a timer value of x symbols and "symy _x" represents a timer value of y slots each containing x symbols.

Asynchronous HARQ is used for Autonomous Uplink (AUL) transmission in NR like licensed assisted access-long term evolution (LAA-LTE) or enhanced LAA-LTE (eLAA-LTE). In LAA-LTE or eLAA-LTE, a channel known as an AUL-DFI (AUL-dynamic feedback indicator) is used to provide HARQ feedback for AUL-based uplink HARQ transmissions. Dynamic HARQ feedback for autonomous uplink transmissions may reduce residual HARQ transmission failures due to channel unavailability or channel access collisions between adjacent transmitters. For unlicensed operation in NR, a similar dynamic HARQ feedback may be used for AUL-based uplink HARQ transmission.

Disclosure of Invention

An object of the present disclosure is to provide a method and apparatus for facilitating HARQ transmission.

According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, a method in a terminal device for facilitating HARQ transmission is provided. The method comprises the following steps: starting a first configuration grant timer associated with the first HARQ process when transmitting data to the network device in a first HARQ transmission using the first HARQ process; receiving HARQ feedback information associated with the first HARQ transmission from the network device; and applying a timer operation to the first configuration grant timer based on the HARQ feedback information.

In an embodiment, the application operations may include: when the HARQ feedback information is a HARQ Acknowledgement (ACK), the first configuration grant timer is stopped such that the first HARQ process is released.

In an embodiment, the application operations may include: when the HARQ feedback information is a HARQ Negative Acknowledgement (NACK), the first configuration grant timer is restarted.

In an embodiment, the first HARQ transmission may comprise a plurality of Code Block Groups (CBGs). The application operations may include: when the HARQ feedback information associated with any CBG is a HARQ NACK, the first configuration grant timer is restarted.

In an embodiment, when the first configuration permission timer is restarted, it may be set to a predetermined value. The predetermined value may be derived from configuration information received from the network device.

In an embodiment, the method may further comprise: a second configuration grant timer associated with a second HARQ process is started when data is transmitted to the network device in a second HARQ transmission subsequent to the first HARQ transmission using the second HARQ process. The HARQ feedback information may be aggregated HARQ feedback information associated with the first HARQ transmission and the second HARQ transmission. The first configuration license timer may be set to a first value and the second configuration license timer may be set to a second value. The first value may be greater than the second value.

In an embodiment, the first value may be greater than the second value by a time difference between the first HARQ transmission and the second HARQ transmission.

In an embodiment, the first HARQ transmission may have a first priority level. The method may further comprise: transmitting data in a second HARQ transmission having a second priority level higher than the first priority level using the first HARQ process when the first configuration grant timer is running; and restarting the first configuration grant timer when transmitting data in the second HARQ transmission.

According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, a method in a terminal device for facilitating HARQ transmission is provided. The method comprises the following steps: starting a configuration grant timer associated with a HARQ process when the HARQ process is used to transmit data in a first HARQ transmission having a first priority level; transmitting data in a second HARQ transmission having a second priority level higher than the first priority level using the HARQ process while the timer is running; and restarting the timer when transmitting data in the second HARQ transmission.

According to a third aspect of the present disclosure, a terminal device is provided. The terminal device includes a transceiver, a processor, and a memory. The memory contains instructions executable by the processor whereby the terminal device is operative to perform the methods according to the first and second aspects described above.

According to a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium is provided. The computer readable storage medium has stored thereon computer program instructions. The computer program instructions, when executed by a processor in a terminal device, cause the terminal device to perform the method according to the first and second aspects described above.

According to a fifth aspect of the present disclosure, a method in a network device for facilitating HARQ transmissions is provided. The method comprises the following steps: configuration information is transmitted to the terminal device, the configuration information indicating a value to which a configuration grant timer is to be set when the configuration grant timer is restarted at the terminal device in response to a HARQ Negative Acknowledgement (NACK).

In an embodiment, the value may depend on the traffic load at the network device.

According to a sixth aspect of the present disclosure, a network device is provided. The network device includes a transceiver, a processor, and a memory. The memory comprises instructions executable by the processor whereby the network device is operative to perform the method according to the fifth aspect described above.

According to a seventh aspect of the present disclosure, a computer readable storage medium is provided. The computer readable storage medium has stored thereon computer program instructions. The computer program instructions, when executed by a processor in a network device, cause the network device to perform the method according to the fifth aspect described above.

In an eighth aspect of the present disclosure, a communication system is provided. The communication system includes a host computer including: processing circuitry configured to provide user data; and a communication interface configured to forward the user data to a cellular network for transmission to a User Equipment (UE). The cellular network includes a base station having a radio interface and processing circuitry. The processing circuitry of the base station is configured to perform the method according to the fifth aspect described above.

In an embodiment, the communication system may further comprise a base station.

In an embodiment, the communication system may further comprise a UE. The UE may be configured to communicate with a base station.

In an embodiment, the processing circuitry of the host computer may be configured to execute a host application, thereby providing user data; and the UE may include processing circuitry configured to execute a client application associated with the host application.

According to a ninth aspect of the present disclosure, a method implemented in a communication system is provided. A communication system is provided that includes a host computer, a base station, and a User Equipment (UE). The method comprises the following steps: providing, at a host computer, user data; and initiating, at the host computer, a transmission carrying user data to the UE via a cellular network including the base station. The base station performs the method according to the fifth aspect above.

In an embodiment, the method may further comprise: at the base station, user data is transmitted.

In an embodiment, user data may be provided at a host computer by executing a host application. The method may further comprise: at the UE, a client application associated with the host application is executed.

According to a tenth aspect of the present disclosure, a communication system is provided. The communication system includes a host computer including: processing circuitry configured to provide user data; and a communication interface configured to forward the user data to a cellular network for transmission to a User Equipment (UE). The UE includes a radio interface and processing circuitry. The processing circuitry of the UE is configured to perform the method according to any of the first and second aspects above.

In an embodiment, the communication system may further comprise a UE.

In an embodiment, the cellular network may further comprise a base station configured to communicate with the UE.

In an embodiment, the processing circuitry of the host computer may be configured to execute a host application, thereby providing user data; and the processing circuitry of the UE may be configured to execute a client application associated with the host application.

According to an eleventh aspect of the present disclosure, a method implemented in a communication system is provided. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station, and a User Equipment (UE). The method comprises the following steps: providing, at a host computer, user data; and initiating, at the host computer, a transmission carrying user data to the UE via a cellular network including the base station. The UE performs the method according to any one of the first and second aspects above.

In an embodiment, the method may further comprise: at the UE, user data is received from a base station.

According to a twelfth aspect of the present disclosure, a communication system is provided. The communication system includes a host computer including: a communication interface configured to receive user data, the user data being derived from a transmission from a User Equipment (UE) to a base station. The UE includes a radio interface and processing circuitry. The processing circuitry of the UE is configured to perform the method according to any of the first and second aspects above.

In an embodiment, the communication system may further comprise a UE.

In an embodiment, the communication system may further comprise a base station. The base station may include: a radio interface configured to communicate with a UE; and a communication interface configured to forward user data carried by transmissions from the UE to the base station to the host computer.

In an embodiment, the processing circuitry of the host computer may be configured to execute a host application; and the processing circuitry of the UE may be configured to execute a client application associated with the host application to provide the user data.

In an embodiment, the processing circuitry of the host computer may be configured to execute the host application to provide the request data; and the processing circuitry of the UE may be configured to execute a client application associated with the host application to provide user data in response to the request data.

According to a thirteenth aspect of the present disclosure, a method implemented in a communication system is provided. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station, and a User Equipment (UE). The method comprises the following steps: user data transmitted from the UE to the base station is received at the host computer. The UE performs the method according to any one of the first and second aspects above.

In an embodiment, the method may further comprise: at the UE, user data is provided to the base station.

In an embodiment, the method may further comprise: executing, at the UE, a client application, thereby providing user data to be transmitted; and executing, at the host computer, a host application associated with the client application.

In an embodiment, the method may further comprise: executing, at the UE, a client application; and at the UE, receiving input data to the client application, the input data provided at the host computer by executing a host application associated with the client application. The user data to be transmitted may be provided by the client application in response to the input data.

According to a fourteenth aspect of the present disclosure, a communication system is provided. The communication system includes a host computer including: a communication interface configured to receive user data originating from a transmission from a User Equipment (UE) to a base station. The base station includes a radio interface and processing circuitry. The processing circuitry of the base station is configured to perform the method according to the fifth aspect described above.

In an embodiment, the communication system may further comprise a base station.

In an embodiment, the processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to execute a host application; the UE may be configured to execute a client application associated with the host application to provide user data to be received by the host computer.

According to a fifteenth aspect of the present disclosure, a method implemented in a communication system is provided. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station, and a User Equipment (UE). The method comprises the following steps: at the host computer, user data is received from the base station, the user data originating from transmissions that the base station has received from the UE. The base station performs the method according to the fifth aspect above.

In an embodiment, the method may further comprise: at the base station, user data is received from the UE.

In an embodiment, the method may further comprise: at the base station, transmission of the received user data to the host computer is initiated.

By way of embodiments of the present disclosure, a terminal device may start a configuration grant timer associated with a HARQ process when transmitting data to a network device in a HARQ transmission using the HARQ process. Then, upon receiving HARQ feedback information associated with the HARQ transmission from the network device, the terminal device may apply a timer operation to the configuration grant timer based on the HARQ feedback information. For example, the terminal device may stop the configuration grant timer to release the HARQ process when the HARQ ACK is received, or restart the configuration grant timer when the HARQ NACK is received.

Drawings

The above and other objects, features and advantages will be more apparent from the following description of embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

fig. 1 is a flowchart illustrating a method in a terminal device for facilitating HARQ transmission according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

Fig. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of multi-slot scheduling and aggregated HARQ feedback information;

Fig. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a method in a terminal device for facilitating HARQ transmission according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method in a network device for facilitating HARQ transmissions according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 5 is a block diagram of a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

Fig. 6 is a block diagram of a terminal device according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

Fig. 7 is a block diagram of a network device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 8 is a block diagram of a network device according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 9 schematically shows a telecommunications network connected to a host computer via an intermediate network;

FIG. 10 is a generalized block diagram of a host computer communicating with a user device via a base station over a portion of a wireless connection; and

Fig. 11-14 are flowcharts illustrating methods implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station, and a user equipment.

Detailed Description

As used herein, the term "wireless communication network" refers to a network that conforms to any suitable communication standard (e.g., LTE-advanced (LTE-a), LTE, wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), high Speed Packet Access (HSPA), etc.). Furthermore, wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) standards such as IEEE 802.11 standards, may be in accordance with any suitable generation communication protocol (including, but not limited to, global System for Mobile communications (GSM), universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), long Term Evolution (LTE), and/or other suitable 1G (first generation), 2G (second generation), 2.5G, 2.75G, 3G (third generation), 4G (fourth generation), 4.5G, 5G (fifth generation) communication protocols; and/or any other suitable wireless communication standard, such as worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMax), bluetooth and/or ZigBee standards and/or any other protocol currently known or to be developed in the future, to perform communication between terminal devices and network devices in a wireless communication network.

The term "network device" refers to a device in a wireless communication network via which a terminal device accesses the network and receives services therefrom. A network device refers to a Base Station (BS), an Access Point (AP), or any other suitable device in a wireless communication network. The BS may be, for example, a node B (NodeB or NB), an evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB), or gNB, a Remote Radio Unit (RRU), a Radio Head (RH), a Remote Radio Head (RRH), a relay, a low power node such as a femto, pico, etc. Further examples of network devices may include: an MSR radio such as a multi-standard radio (MSR) BS, a network controller such as a Radio Network Controller (RNC) or a Base Station Controller (BSC), a Base Transceiver Station (BTS), a transmission point, a transmission node. More generally, however, a network device may represent any suitable device (or set of devices) capable of, configured to, arranged and/or operable to enable and/or provide access to a terminal device of a wireless communication network or to provide some service to a terminal device that has accessed the wireless communication network.

The term "terminal device" refers to any terminal device that can access a wireless communication network and receive services from the wireless communication network. By way of example, and not limitation, a terminal device refers to a mobile terminal, user Equipment (UE), or other suitable device. The UE may be, for example, a Subscriber Station (SS), a portable subscriber station, a Mobile Station (MS), or an Access Terminal (AT). The terminal devices may include, but are not limited to, mobile phones, cellular phones, smart phones, voice over IP (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, tablet computers, wearable devices, personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), portable computers, desktop computers, image capture terminal devices (e.g., digital cameras), gaming terminal devices, music storage and playback devices, wearable terminal devices, in-vehicle wireless terminal devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, laptop embedded devices (LEEs), laptop mounted devices (LMEs), USB adapters, smart devices, wireless Customer Premise Equipment (CPE), and the like. In the following description, the terms "terminal device", "terminal", "user equipment" and "UE" may be used interchangeably. As one example, a terminal device may represent a UE configured for communication in accordance with one or more communication standards promulgated by the third generation partnership project (3 GPP) (e.g., the GSM, UMTS, LTE and/or 5G standards of 3 GPP). As used herein, a "user equipment" or "UE" may not necessarily have a "user" in the sense of a human user who owns and/or operates the relevant device. In some embodiments, the terminal device may be configured to send and/or receive information without direct human interaction. For example, the terminal device may be designed to send information to the network in a predetermined schedule when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to a request from the wireless communication network. Alternatively, the UE may represent a device intended to be sold to or operated by a human user, but which may not be initially associated with a particular human user.

The terminal device may support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example by implementing the 3GPP standard for sidelink (sidelink) communication, and may in this case be referred to as a D2D communication device.

As yet another example, in an internet of things (IOT) scenario, a terminal device may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and/or measurements and sends the results of such monitoring and/or measurements to another terminal device and/or network device. In this case, the terminal device may be a machine-to-machine (M2M) device, which may be referred to as a Machine Type Communication (MTC) device in the 3GPP context. As a specific example, the terminal device may be a UE implementing the 3GPP narrowband internet of things (NB-IoT) standard. Specific examples of such machines or devices are: a sensor, a metering device such as an electricity meter, an industrial machine or a household or personal device, such as a refrigerator, a television, a personal wearable device such as a watch, etc. In other scenarios, a terminal device may represent a vehicle or other device capable of monitoring and/or reporting its operational status or other functions associated with its operation.

As used herein, downlink DL transmission refers to transmission from a network device to a terminal device, while uplink UL transmission refers to transmission in the opposite direction.

References in the specification to "one embodiment," "an example embodiment," etc., indicate that the embodiment described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but every embodiment may not necessarily include the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it is submitted that it is within the knowledge of one skilled in the art to effect such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodiments whether or not explicitly described.

It will be understood that, although the terms "first" and "second," etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first element could be termed a second element, and, similarly, a second element could be termed a first element, without departing from the scope of example embodiments. As used herein, the term "and/or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed words.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of example embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates to the contrary. It will be further understood that the terms "comprises," "comprising," "has," "having," "including," and/or "having," when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

In the following description and claims, unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs.

In NR, AUL-based uplink HARQ transmission is based on a configured scheduling scheme. As described above, for CS type1 or type2, there is configuredGrantTimer associated with each HARQ process that uses configuration scheduling. If configuredGrantTimer associated with the HARQ process is running, it indicates that the HARQ process has not been released and the UE should avoid using the HARQ process for licensed uplink transmissions using any configuration.

In 3GPP TS 38.321-f10, assuming that there is no HARQ feedback for any uplink HARQ transmission, operations are defined configuredGrantTimer, including setting a timer value and starting, restarting, or stopping configuredGrantTimer. However, as described above, dynamic HARQ feedback may be provided in unlicensed operation. In this case, it is desirable to define a timer operation in response to HARQ feedback. It is noted herein that the present disclosure is not limited to unlicensed operation. Instead, it applies to any HARQ transmission that provides HARQ feedback.

Fig. 1 is a flow chart illustrating a method 100 for facilitating HARQ transmissions according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The method 100 may be performed at a terminal device.

At block 110, the terminal device starts a first configuration grant timer associated with the first HARQ process (e.g., configuredGrantTimer, as described above) when data is sent to the network device in a first HARQ transmission using the first HARQ process.

At block 120, the terminal device receives HARQ feedback information associated with a first HARQ transmission from the network device. The HARQ feedback information may be HARQ ACK or HARQ NACK.

At block 130, the terminal device applies a timer operation to the first configuration grant timer based on the HARQ feedback information.

In an example, in block 130, the terminal device may stop the first configuration grant timer when the HARQ feedback information is a HARQ ACK. In this way, the first configuration grant timer may be stopped and the first HARQ process may be released upon receipt of the HARQ ACK.

In another example, in block 130, the terminal device may restart the first configuration grant timer when the HARQ feedback information is a HARQ NACK. When the first HARQ transmission comprises a plurality of Code Block Groups (CBGs), the terminal device may restart the first configuration grant timer when HARQ feedback information associated with any CBG is a HARQ NACK. Here, the first configuration license timer may be restarted with its original value. Alternatively, when the first configuration permission timer is restarted, it may be set to a predetermined value. The predetermined value may be derived from configuration information received from the network device. Then, while the first configuration grant timer is running, the terminal device may wait for a dynamic grant to schedule a retransmission using the first HARQ process. When there is a risk of a channel being unavailable due to e.g. LBT failure or of additional delay due to e.g. high traffic load at the network device, the restart of the timer allows the network device sufficient time to schedule retransmissions.

Further, the terminal device may start a second configuration grant timer associated with the second HARQ process when transmitting data to the network device in a second HARQ transmission subsequent to the first HARQ transmission using the second HARQ process. The HARQ feedback information may be aggregated HARQ feedback information associated with the first HARQ transmission and the second HARQ transmission. The first configuration license timer may be set to a first value and the second configuration license timer may be set to a second value. The first value may be greater than the second value, e.g., a time difference between the first HARQ transmission and the second HARQ transmission.

Fig. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of multi-slot scheduling and aggregated HARQ feedback information. As shown, in the multi-slot scheduling scenario, the terminal device transmits uplink data in four HARQ transmissions using HARQ processes 0, 1,2 and 3, respectively, and then receives aggregated HARQ feedback information for all four HARQ transmissions. In this case, if all HARQ processes use the same configuration grant timer value, then the HARQ transmission using HARQ process 0 will have a higher risk than any other HARQ transmission, the risk being that its associated timer will expire before the aggregated HARQ feedback information can be received. Thus, for fairness reasons, the value of the configuration grant timer associated with HARQ process 0 is set to be greater than the value of the configuration grant timer associated with any one of HARQ processes 1,2 and 3. Preferably, the value of the configuration grant timer associated with HARQ process 0 may be set one time slot greater than the value of the configuration grant timer associated with HARQ process 1, the value of the configuration grant timer associated with HARQ process 1 may in turn be set one time slot greater than the value of the configuration grant timer associated with HARQ process 2, and so on.

Further, assuming that the first HARQ transmission (or data transmitted in the first HARQ transmission) has a first priority level, when new data having a second priority level higher than the first priority level is to be transmitted, the terminal device may transmit the new data in the second HARQ transmission (may also be regarded as having the second priority level) using the first HARQ process even if the first configuration grant timer is running. The terminal device may restart the first configuration grant timer when sending new data in the second HARQ transmission.

Fig. 3 is a flow chart illustrating a method 300 for facilitating HARQ transmissions according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The method 300 may be performed at a terminal device.

At block 310, the terminal device starts a configuration grant timer associated with the HARQ process when data is transmitted in a first HARQ transmission having a first priority level using the HARQ process.

At block 320, the terminal device sends data in a second HARQ transmission having a second priority level higher than the first priority level using the HARQ process while the timer is running.

At block 330, the terminal device restarts the timer when sending data in the second HARQ transmission.

Fig. 4 is a flow chart illustrating a method 400 for facilitating HARQ transmissions according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. The method 400 may be performed at a network device.

At block 410, the network device sends configuration information to the terminal device. The configuration information indicates a value to which the configuration grant timer is to be set when restarting the configuration grant timer at the terminal device in response to the HARQ NACK.

In an example, the value depends on traffic load at the network device. In other words, the network device may determine the value based on its traffic load. For example, the higher the traffic load, the greater the value may be.

Corresponding to the methods 100 and/or 300 described above, a terminal device is provided. Fig. 5 is a block diagram of a terminal device 500 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in fig. 5, the terminal device 500 includes: a timer control unit 510 configured to start a first configuration grant timer associated with the first HARQ process when data is transmitted to the network device in a first HARQ transmission using the first HARQ process. The terminal device 500 further includes: the transmitting/receiving unit 520 is configured to receive HARQ feedback information associated with the first HARQ transmission from the network device. The timer control unit 510 is further configured to apply a timer operation to the first configuration grant timer based on the HARQ feedback information.

In an embodiment, the timer control unit 510 may be configured to stop the first configuration grant timer when the HARQ feedback information is a HARQ Acknowledgement (ACK), such that the first HARQ process is released.

In an embodiment, the timer control unit 510 may be configured to restart the first configuration grant timer when the HARQ feedback information is a HARQ Negative Acknowledgement (NACK).

In an embodiment, the first HARQ transmission may comprise a plurality of Code Block Groups (CBGs). The timer control unit 510 may be configured to restart the first configuration grant timer when HARQ feedback information associated with any CBG is a HARQ NACK.

In an embodiment, the timer control unit 510 may be further configured to start a second configuration grant timer associated with the second HARQ process when data is sent to the network device in a second HARQ transmission subsequent to the first HARQ transmission using the second HARQ process. The HARQ feedback information may be aggregated HARQ feedback information associated with the first HARQ transmission and the second HARQ transmission. The first configuration license timer may be set to a first value and the second configuration license timer may be set to a second value. The first value may be greater than the second value.

In an embodiment, the first HARQ transmission may have a first priority level. The transmitting/receiving unit 520 may be further configured to transmit data in a second HARQ transmission having a second priority level higher than the first priority level using the first HARQ process when the first configuration grant timer is running. The timer control unit 510 may be configured to restart the first configuration grant timer when data is sent in the second HARQ transmission.

Alternatively, timer control unit 510 may be configured to start a configuration grant timer associated with a HARQ process when the HARQ process is used to transmit data in a first HARQ transmission having a first priority level. The transmitting/receiving unit 520 may be configured to transmit data in a second HARQ transmission having a second priority level higher than the first priority level using the HARQ process when the timer is running. The timer control unit 510 may also be configured to restart the timer when data is sent in the second HARQ transmission.

The units 510-520 may be implemented as a pure hardware solution or as a combination of software and hardware, e.g. by one or more of the following: a processor or microprocessor and appropriate software configured to perform the actions described above, such as those shown in fig. 1 or 3, and a memory, programmable Logic Device (PLD) or other electronic component or processing circuit for storing the software.

Fig. 6 is a block diagram of a terminal device 600 according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

Terminal device 600 includes transceiver 610, processor 620, and memory 630. Memory 630 contains instructions executable by processor 620 such that terminal device 600 operates to perform actions such as the processes described above in connection with fig. 1. In particular, the memory 630 contains instructions executable by the processor 620 such that the terminal device 600 is operative to: starting a first configuration grant timer associated with the first HARQ process when transmitting data to the network device in a first HARQ transmission using the first HARQ process; receiving HARQ feedback information associated with the first HARQ transmission from the network device; and applying a timer operation to the first configuration grant timer based on the HARQ feedback information.

In an embodiment, the memory 630 may also contain instructions executable by the processor 620 such that the terminal device 600 is operative to: a second configuration grant timer associated with the second HARQ process is started when data is transmitted to the network device in a second HARQ transmission subsequent to the first HARQ transmission using the second HARQ process. The HARQ feedback information may be aggregated HARQ feedback information associated with the first HARQ transmission and the second HARQ transmission. The first configuration license timer may be set to a first value and the second configuration license timer may be set to a second value. The first value may be greater than the second value.

In an embodiment, the first HARQ transmission may have a first priority level. Memory 630 may also contain instructions executable by processor 620 such that terminal device 600 is operative to: transmitting data in a second HARQ transmission having a second priority level higher than the first priority level using the first HARQ process while the first configuration grant timer is running; and restarting the first configuration grant timer when transmitting data in the second HARQ transmission.

Alternatively, the memory 630 may contain instructions executable by the processor 620 such that the terminal device 600 is operative to perform acts such as the processes described above in connection with fig. 3. In particular, the memory 630 contains instructions executable by the processor 620 such that the terminal device 600 is operative to: starting a configuration grant timer associated with a HARQ process when the HARQ process is used to transmit data in a first HARQ transmission having a first priority level; transmitting data in a second HARQ transmission having a second priority level higher than the first priority level using the HARQ process while the timer is running; and restarting the timer when transmitting data in the second HARQ transmission.

Corresponding to the method 400 described above, a network device is provided. Fig. 7 is a block diagram of a network device 700 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in fig. 7, the network device 700 includes a transmitting unit 710, the transmitting unit 710 being configured to: configuration information is transmitted to the terminal device, the configuration information indicating a value to which a configuration grant timer is to be set when the configuration grant timer is restarted at the terminal device in response to a HARQ Negative Acknowledgement (NACK).

The transmitting unit 710 may be implemented as a pure hardware solution or as a combination of software and hardware, e.g. by one or more of the following: a processor or microprocessor and appropriate software configured to perform the actions described above, such as shown in fig. 4, and a memory, programmable Logic Device (PLD) or other electronic component or processing circuit for storing the software.

Fig. 8 is a block diagram of a network device 800 according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

Network device 800 includes a transceiver 810, a processor 820, and a memory 830. Memory 830 contains instructions executable by processor 820 whereby network device 800 operates to perform acts such as the processes described above in connection with fig. 4. In particular, memory 830 contains instructions executable by processor 820 such that network device 800 operates to: configuration information is transmitted to the terminal device, the configuration information indicating a value to which a configuration grant timer is to be set when the configuration grant timer is restarted at the terminal device in response to a HARQ Negative Acknowledgement (NACK).

The present disclosure also provides at least one computer program product in the form of a non-volatile or volatile memory, such as a non-transitory computer readable storage medium, an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a flash memory, and a hard disk drive. The computer program product comprises a computer program. The computer program comprises: code/computer readable instructions which, when executed by processor 620, cause terminal device 600 to perform actions such as the processes described above in connection with fig. 1 or 3; or code/computer readable instructions that when executed by processor 820 cause network device 800 to perform actions such as the process described above in connection with fig. 4.

The computer program product may be configured as computer program code structured in computer program modules. The computer program modules may substantially execute the actions of the processes shown in fig. 1,3, or 4.

The processor may be a single CPU (central processing unit), but may also include two or more processing units. For example, a processor may include a general purpose microprocessor, an instruction set processor, and/or an associated chipset and/or a special purpose microprocessor (e.g., an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC)). The processor may also include on-board memory for caching purposes. The computer program may be carried by a computer program product coupled to the processor. The computer program product may include a non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing a computer program. For example, the computer program product may be a flash memory, a Random Access Memory (RAM), a Read Only Memory (ROM), or an EEPROM, and the computer program modules described above may be distributed over different computer program products in the form of memories in alternative embodiments.

Referring to fig. 9, according to an embodiment, a communication system includes a telecommunication network 910 (e.g., a 3GPP type cellular network), the telecommunication network 910 including an access network 911 (e.g., a radio access network) and a core network 914. The access network 911 includes a plurality of base stations 912a, 912b, 912c (e.g., NB, eNB, gNB or other types of wireless access points), each defining a corresponding coverage area 913a, 913b, 913c. Each base station 912a, 912b, 912c may be connected to the core network 914 by a wired or wireless connection 915. A first User Equipment (UE) 991 located in coverage area 913c is configured to connect to corresponding base station 912c wirelessly or be paged by corresponding base station 912 c. A second UE 992 in coverage area 913a may be wirelessly connectable to a corresponding base station 912a. Although multiple UEs 991, 992 are shown in this example, the disclosed embodiments are equally applicable to situations where a unique UE is in a coverage area or where a unique UE is connected to a corresponding base station 912.

The telecommunications network 910 itself is connected to a host computer 930, which host computer 930 may be implemented as a stand-alone server, a cloud-implemented server, hardware and/or software of a distributed server, or as processing resources in a server cluster. The host computer 930 may be under all or control of the service provider or may be operated by or on behalf of the service provider. The connection 921, 922 between the telecommunications network 910 and the host computer 930 may extend directly from the core network 914 to the host computer 930, or may be made via an optional intermediate network 920. The intermediate network 920 may be one or a combination of more than one of public, private or bearer networks; the intermediate network 920 (if present) may be a backbone network or the internet; in particular, the intermediate network 920 may include two or more subnetworks (not shown).

The communication system of fig. 9 as a whole enables a connection between one of the connected UEs 991, 992 and the host computer 930. This connection may be described as an over-the-top (OTT) connection 950. Host computer 930 and connected UEs 991, 992 are configured to communicate data and/or signaling via OTT connection 950 using access network 911, core network 914, any intermediate network 920, and possibly other infrastructure (not shown) as intermediaries. OTT connection 950 may be transparent in the sense that the participating communication devices through which OTT connection 950 passes are unaware of the routing of uplink and downlink communications. For example, the base station 912 may not be notified or may not be required to be notified of past routes of incoming downlink communications with data from the host computer 930 to be forwarded (e.g., handed over) to the connected UE 991. Similarly, base station 912 need not be aware of future routes of outgoing uplink communications from UE 991 to host computer 930.

An example implementation of the UE, base station and host computer discussed in the previous paragraph according to an embodiment will now be described with reference to fig. 10. In communication system 1000, host computer 1010 includes hardware 1015, and hardware 1015 includes communication interface 1016, with communication interface 1016 being configured to establish and maintain a wired or wireless connection with an interface of a different communication device of communication system 1000. The host computer 1010 also includes processing circuitry 1018, which may have storage and/or processing capabilities. In particular, processing circuitry 1018 may include one or more programmable processors, application specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays, or combinations thereof (not shown) adapted to execute instructions. The host computer 1010 also includes software 1011 that is stored in the host computer 1010 or accessible by the host computer 1010 and executable by the processing circuitry 1018. The software 1011 includes a host application 1012. Host application 1012 is operable to provide services to a remote user (e.g., UE 1030), UE 1030 being connected via OTT connection 1050 terminating at UE 1030 and host computer 1010. In providing services to remote users, host application 1012 may provide user data sent using OTT connection 1050.

Communication system 1000 also includes a base station 1020 provided in the telecommunication system, base station 1020 including hardware 1025 that enables it to communicate with host computer 1010 and with UE 1030. Hardware 1025 may include: a communication interface 1026 for establishing and maintaining wired or wireless connections with interfaces of different communication devices of the communication system 1000; and a radio interface 1027 for at least establishing and maintaining a wireless connection 1070 with a UE 1030 located in a coverage area (not shown in fig. 10) served by base station 1020. The communication interface 1026 may be configured to facilitate a connection 1060 to the host computer 1010. The connection 1060 may be direct or it may be through a core network (not shown in fig. 10) of the telecommunication system and/or through one or more intermediate networks external to the telecommunication system. In the illustrated embodiment, hardware 1025 of base station 1020 also includes processing circuitry 1028, where processing circuitry 1028 may include one or more programmable processors adapted to execute instructions, application specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays, or a combination thereof (not shown). The base station 1020 also has software 1021 stored internally or accessible via an external connection.

The communication system 1000 further comprises the already mentioned UE 1030. Its hardware 1035 may include a radio interface 1037 configured to establish and maintain a wireless connection 1070 with a base station serving the coverage area in which UE 1030 is currently located. Hardware 1035 of UE 1030 also includes processing circuitry 1038, which may include one or more programmable processors adapted to execute instructions, application specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays, or a combination thereof (not shown). UE 1030 also includes software 1031 that is stored in UE 1030 or that is accessible to UE 1030 and executable by processing circuitry 1038. Software 1031 includes a client application 1032. Client application 1032 is operable to provide services to human or non-human users via UE 1030 under the support of host computer 1010. In host computer 1010, executing host application 1012 may communicate with executing client application 1032 via OTT connection 1050 terminating at UE 1030 and host computer 1010. In providing services to users, client application 1032 may receive request data from host application 1012 and provide user data in response to the request data. OTT connection 1050 may transmit both request data and user data. Client application 1032 may interact with the user to generate user data that it provides.

Note that host computer 1010, base station 1020, and UE 1030 shown in fig. 10 may be the same as one of host computer 930, base stations 912a, 912b, 912c, and one of UEs 991, 992, respectively, of fig. 9. That is, the internal workings of these entities may be as shown in fig. 10, and independently, the surrounding network topology may be the network topology of fig. 9.

In fig. 10, OTT connection 1050 has been abstractly drawn to illustrate communications between host computer 1010 and user device 1030 via base station 1020 without explicitly mentioning any intermediate devices and the precise routing of messages via these devices. The network infrastructure may determine the route, which may be configured to be hidden from UE 1030 or from the service provider operating host computer 1010, or from both. While OTT connection 1050 is active, the network infrastructure may also make its decision to dynamically change routes (e.g., based on load balancing considerations or reconfiguration of the network).

The wireless connection 1070 between UE 1030 and base station 1020 is according to the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of OTT services provided to UE 1030 using OTT connection 1050, wherein wireless connection 1070 forms the last segment in OTT connection 1050. More precisely, the teachings of these embodiments may improve radio resource utilization and thereby provide benefits such as reduced user latency.

The measurement process may be provided for the purpose of monitoring data rates, delays, and other factors that may be improved by one or more embodiments. There may also be optional network functions for reconfiguring OTT connection 1050 between host computer 1010 and UE 1030 in response to a change in measurement results. The measurement procedures and/or network functions for reconfiguring OTT connection 1050 may be implemented in software 1011 of host computer 1010 or in software 1031 of UE 1030 or both. In an embodiment, a sensor (not shown) may be deployed in or in association with a communication device through which OTT connection 1050 passes; the sensor may participate in the measurement process by providing the value of the monitored quantity exemplified above or other physical quantity that the providing software 1011, 1031 may use to calculate or estimate the monitored quantity. Reconfiguration of OTT connection 1050 may include message format, retransmission settings, preferred routing, etc.; this reconfiguration need not affect the base station 1020 and may be unknown or imperceptible to the base station 1020. Such processes and functions may be known and practiced in the art. In particular embodiments, the measurements may involve proprietary UE signaling that facilitates measurements of throughput, propagation time, latency, etc. by host computer 1010. The measurement may be achieved as follows: software 1011 and 1031 enable the use of OTT connection 1050 to send messages (specifically, null messages or "false" messages) while it monitors for propagation times, errors, etc.

Fig. 11 is a flow chart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system according to one embodiment. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station, and a UE, which may be the host computer, the base station, and the UE described with reference to fig. 9 and 10. For simplicity of this disclosure, only the diagram references to fig. 11 will be included in this section. In a first step 1110 of the method, the host computer provides user data. In an optional sub-step 1111 of the first step 1110, the host computer provides user data by executing a host application. In a second step 1120, the host computer initiates transmission of user data carrying to the UE. In an optional third step 1130, the base station sends user data carried in the host computer initiated transmission to the UE in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In an optional fourth step 1140, the UE executes a client application associated with a host application executed by the host computer.

Fig. 12 is a flow chart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system according to one embodiment. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station, and a UE, which may be the host computer, the base station, and the UE described with reference to fig. 9 and 10. For simplicity of this disclosure, only the diagram references to fig. 12 will be included in this section. In a first step 1210 of the method, the host computer provides user data. In an optional sub-step (not shown), the host computer provides user data by executing a host application. In a second step 1220, the host computer initiates transmission of the carried user data to the UE. The transmission may be via a base station according to the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In an optional third step 1230, the UE receives user data carried in the transmission.

Fig. 13 is a flow chart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system according to one embodiment. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station, and a UE, which may be the host computer, the base station, and the UE described with reference to fig. 9 and 10. For simplicity of this disclosure, only the figure references to fig. 13 will be included in this section. In an optional first step 1310 of the method, the UE receives input data provided by a host computer. Additionally or alternatively, in an optional second step 1320, the UE provides user data. In an optional sub-step 1321 of the second step 1320, the UE provides user data by executing a client application. In another optional sub-step 1311 of the first step 1310, the UE executes a client application that provides user data in response to received input data provided by the host computer. The executed client application may also take into account user input received from the user when providing the user data. Regardless of the particular manner in which the user data is provided, the UE initiates transmission of the user data to the host computer in optional sub-step 1330. In a fourth step 1340 of the method, the host computer receives user data sent from the UE according to the teachings of the embodiments described throughout the present disclosure.

Fig. 14 is a flow chart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system according to one embodiment. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station, and a UE, which may be the host computer, the base station, and the UE described with reference to fig. 9 and 10. For simplicity of this disclosure, only the figure references to figure 14 will be included in this section. In an optional first step 1410 of the method, the base station receives user data from the UE according to the teachings of the embodiments described throughout the present disclosure. In an optional second step 1420, the base station initiates transmission of the received user data to the host computer. In a third step 1430, the host computer receives user data carried in the transmission initiated by the base station.

The present disclosure has been described above with reference to the embodiments thereof. It should be understood that various modifications, substitutions and additions may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Accordingly, the scope of the present disclosure is not limited to the specific embodiments described above, but is only limited by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A method (100) in a terminal device for facilitating hybrid automatic repeat request, HARQ, transmissions, comprising:

-starting (110) a first configuration grant timer associated with a first HARQ process when data is sent to a network device in a first HARQ transmission using the first HARQ process;

Starting a second configuration grant timer associated with a second HARQ process when data is transmitted to the network device in a second HARQ transmission subsequent to the first HARQ transmission using the second HARQ process,

Wherein the first configuration permission timer is set to a first value and the second configuration permission timer is set to a second value, the first value being greater than the second value;

-receiving (120) HARQ feedback information associated with the first HARQ transmission from the network device; and

Applying (130) a timer operation to the first configuration grant timer based on the HARQ feedback information,

Wherein the HARQ feedback information is aggregated HARQ feedback information associated with the first HARQ transmission and the second HARQ transmission.

2. The method (100) of claim 1, wherein the application (130) includes:

when the HARQ feedback information is a HARQ acknowledgement, ACK, the first configuration grant timer is stopped such that the first HARQ process is released.

3. The method (100) of claim 1, wherein the application (130) includes:

And restarting the first configuration permission timer when the HARQ feedback information is HARQ negative acknowledgement NACK.

4. The method (100) of claim 1, wherein the first HARQ transmission comprises a plurality of code block sets, CBGs, and the applying (130) comprises:

the first configuration grant timer is restarted when HARQ feedback information associated with any of the CBGs is a HARQ negative acknowledgement, NACK.

5. The method (100) of claim 3 or 4, wherein the first configuration grant timer is set to a predetermined value when the first configuration grant timer is restarted, and wherein the predetermined value is derived from configuration information received from the network device.

6. The method (100) of claim 1, wherein the first value is greater than the second value by a time difference between the first HARQ transmission and the second HARQ transmission.

7. A method (300) in a terminal device for facilitating hybrid automatic repeat request, HARQ, transmissions, comprising:

-starting (310) a configuration grant timer associated with a HARQ process when the HARQ process is used to transmit data in a first HARQ transmission having a first priority level;

-transmitting (320) data in a second HARQ transmission having a second priority level higher than the first priority level using the HARQ process when the timer is running; and

-Restarting (330) the timer when transmitting data in the second HARQ transmission.

8. A terminal device (600) comprising a transceiver (610), a processor (620) and a memory (630), the memory (630) comprising instructions executable by the processor (620) such that the terminal device (600) is operative to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

9. A computer readable storage medium having stored thereon computer program instructions which, when executed by a processor in a terminal device, cause the terminal device to perform the method according to any of claims 1 to 7.